Cyonmage Alt by Yamaguchi Hagi Beer is a 5% Alt. Nothing much more to say in that department. Cyonmage Alt Aroma and Taste Cyonmage Alt pours out with a big frothy head that whittles away to about a centimetre of beige foam. The aroma is of roasted malt, with a slight breadiness and a bit of an off tang of …

Yamaguchi Hagi Beer Cyonmage Pale Ale is, you guessed it, a 5% pale ale from Yamaguchi Hagi Beer. God, who spells it like that? “Cyonmage”. Who says “Chonmage” and thinks “Yeah, that should be spelt with a Y after the C”. I used to go to a bar that spelt the word “shochu” “syocyu”. Monsters. Anyway, a chonmage is the traditional samurai …

Golden Slumber Pale Ale is a 5% English pale ale from Strange Brewing, based in Niigata, Japan. It’s part of their all-year round range of beers and can be found in bottles and on tap. Strange Brewing is owned by Aoki-san from Bakushu Club Popeye in Ryogoku, Tokyo. Golden Slumber Pale Ale is brewed using English malt and yeast though which …

Pale ales are a cornerstone of the modern craft beer world. The bitter, aromatic, generously-hopped version we are familiar with today has its roots in two separate beers: Anchor Brewing Co.’s Anchor Liberty Ale (1975) and Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale (1980). The term “pale ale”, however, goes back much further than that. “Pale ale” was a term used interchangeably with …

Chofu Beer is a 6% English-style pale ale from Hoppy Beverage Co. Yes, the same Hoppy that make the dubious, tax-avoiding izakaya staple of the same name. I used to drink Hoppy all the time. Wonder if my innards can still manage it. (For the uninitiated, “Hoppy” is a “beer-flavoured beverage” that’s served with a huge glass of shochu spirit …

Iwate Kura Pale Ale is a 4% English-style pale ale from Sekinoichi Brewery. Let’s see, this one has a meaningless award associated with it: a silver medal at the International Beer Challenge in 2007. Second best a decade ago, back when no-one gave a toss about Japanese craft beer? I can hardly wait to try this one. Iwate Kura Pale …

Kisoji Pale Ale is a 5% American pale ale from Kisoji Beer, based in Nagano, Japan. It’s part of their all year round range of beers, available both on tap and in cans, though the cans are a tad hard to distinguish from one another as they all have the same design, besides a small sticker that lies next to the …

Donryu Chroa Taboo Red is a 5% English Pale Ale from Donryu Dream Beer, based in Gunma, Japan. It’s part of their all-year round series and was first released in April 2017 as an addition to the Chroa range. At the time of writing, it’s unknown what ingredients or hops are used in the beer. Donryu Chroa Taboo Red Aroma and …

Hakone Harumeki Pale Ale is a 5.5% English pale ale from Hakone Beer, based in Kanagawa, Japan. It’s part of their spring seasonal range of beers, on sale from the beginning of March until stocks sell out, and can be found in both bottles and on tap across the Kanto area. It’s also won a couple of awards at the Asia …

Preston Pale Ale is a 5% English pale ale from Preston Ale, based in Tochigi, Japan. It’s part of their all-year round range of beers and can be found in bottles and on tap across Japan. Besides a lack of information about Preston Pale Ale, there is the obligatory awards it has won as Asia’s best pale ale in 2010 …